Man Found Guilty Of Murder In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, CO — A man was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder in the 2019 shooting death of 21-year-old Roderick Vecchiarelli, the Jefferson County district attorney's office said.

Christopher Michael Pride, 32, was convicted of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated robbery and four counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, the DA's office said.

Pride was also charged with attempted murder in the death of 49-year-old Angela Saiz-Ortiz, but he was not found guilty in the case, the DA's office said.

Lakewood police were called to 1550 Depew Street on June 17, 2019, after they received a report that a man and woman had been shot.

Vecchiarelli was shot multiple times and died from his injuries, and Saiz-Ortiz was shot multiple times in her legs but survived, authorities said.

The two were robbed before the shooting, and witnesses said they saw a vehicle speed away, the DA's office said. The vehicle was seen shortly after in Edgewater, and an investigation revealed that four people were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

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One of the passengers was Pride, and he was arrested the next day in Colorado Springs, the DA's office said. He was on federal probation and supervised probation at the time of the murder.

After a two-week jury trial, Jefferson County jurors deliberated for more than two days before returning their verdicts.

"Christopher Pride has a lengthy criminal history with prior arrests for assault, robbery, motor vehicle theft, dangerous drugs, and multiple weapons violations," the DA's office said in a news release.

Codefendant Keshun Bastian previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting. He was sentenced Sunday to 45 years in prison.

Pride is scheduled to be sentenced June 29.